How to Start Your Career as a Software Engineer
By Artur Meyster
As technology continues to evolve, the industry has grown more than ever. In spite of this, the workforce is vastly lacking female professionals. A study revealed that only 26% of computing-related jobs are held by women and when we zoom in further on women of color, the figures are even smaller—only 3% are of tech jobs are held by African-American women, 6% held by Asian women, and 2% held by Hispanic women.
If you are a woman who is interested to pursue a tech career, this is the best time to do so. We are here to help you make the workforce a more diverse and equal pool of talent where every individual—regardless of gender, race, origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or religion—can find the right opportunities.
As we know, opportunities are abundant in the tech industry. With rapid advancements, comes a lot of branches that fall under the tech umbrella. Today, having a tech career does not necessarily mean working at the IT department of an office—it could literally mean anything from being a data scientist to a machine learning engineer.
One of the most interesting careers to pursue is software engineering. It involves brain-teasing processes like innovating products, solving problems, and implementing new features. Read on further to find out what you can do to start a career in software engineering.
Choose a Path
There are many paths you can embark on to become a software engineer. You just have to find the best option that suits your needs and goals. In general, these are the three ways to start your journey toward becoming a professional software engineer:
Get a Computer Science Degree
This is a traditional higher education path that could take between four to five years, depending on the courses. It is also the most expensive route, in comparison with alternatives below. A college education can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000 a semester. However, the main perks are that you will receive a holistic education and your credentials will be highly regarded by future employers.
It should be noted that most universities don’t offer tech specializations as a bachelor’s degree. You would probably have to opt for computer science as a major. You would also be asked to fulfill pre-requisite or elective subjects and attend other classes that aren’t directly related to your major as a part of the university’s requirements.
Get a Professional Certification
There are short courses or coding bootcamps that can be taken in-person or online. They last anywhere between three to eight months and teach all you need to know to be a software engineer. These schools are career-oriented so the major benefit of enrolling is that you will be job-ready as soon as you graduate. On top of that, they provide mentoring on how to do well in job interviews, among others. Bootcamps are also a cheaper option than a college degree.
The downside, however, is that you will not receive a bachelor’s degree upon course completion, but instead a professional certificate. Therefore, you’ll have to pad it up with relevant experiences in order to increase your chances of being hired. The best part about boot camps is that they typically make students work on three or four projects during the lesson period—all of which you can use to demonstrate your proficiency in relevant tech skills.
Self-Education
If the two options are not for you, consider self-education. There are many resources available for you to learn how to be a self-taught software engineer. Because you are learning on your own, the only way to go is by practicing and actually testing all projects yourself. This can sharpen your problem-solving skills because you are learning through the process of trial-and-error. The downside, however, is that it will probably take you a lot longer to master a specific skill since you have no expert guidance. If you enjoy challenges and are in no rush to start a career in tech, this is probably a good way to start.
Prepare your Portfolio
No matter how you choose to advance, you have to prepare a portfolio to start applying for software engineering roles. List down all the projects that you have completed and highlight the ones that are relevant to the position you are trying to pursue. When describing them, make sure to mention the challenges you faced and how you resolved the issues.
Employers want to get to know you and how you work, so try to present your portfolio in a manner that describes who you are as a software engineer. If you want to get creative, you could make a website for your portfolio or if you want to increase your visibility among recruiters, you could use a portfolio hosting website.
Networking
This is one of the most important parts when starting any career because it helps professionals build rapport and maintain close connections with their peers. In the tech industry, it is especially important for minority groups like women to expand their networks. Aside from establishing a presence in the community, they can also encourage other women to join the “tech side” by being a part of a large network of professionals.
On top of that, industry meetups and events are a good platform for you to exchange ideas, learn about new tech developments, engage with industry experts, and collaborate with peers. Who knows, they might even lead you to your next software engineering opportunity!
About the Author: Artur Meyster is the CTO of Career Karma (YC W19), an online marketplace that matches career switchers with coding bootcamps. He is also the host of the Breaking Into Startups podcast, which features people with non-traditional backgrounds who broke into tech. Follow him on social: Twitter & LinkedIn